The field of the present disclosure relates generally to antivortex and vapor-ingestion-suppression devices and, more particularly, to antivortex and vapor-ingestion-suppression devices for liquid reservoirs including multiple liquid outlet ports.
Launch vehicles, such as rocket engine propelled vehicles intended for space travel, typically use a liquid propellant that is stored in a storage tank and supplied to engines during takeoff and flight. When the liquid propellant is supplied to the engines, vapor or gases cannot be allowed to enter the engines in large amounts. If vapor or gas is introduced into the engines in sufficient quantities, the vapor ingestion may cause a stall or other malfunctions that may increase the possibility of engine failure. Additionally, it may be desirable to empty the liquid storage tanks as completely as possible through engine combustion to maximize engine operating time, which may allow for increased vehicle payload.
One known attempt to reduce vapor ingestion uses a screen that encompasses substantially all or at least a portion of the interior area of the liquid storage tank. In this system, fluid is wicked through the screens by capillary action, and vapor or gas bubbles are prevented from flowing through the screens due to the bubble point pressure of the fluid screen system. However, such screen systems are typically only for storage tanks being used in low gravity and are less useful in higher gravity environments. Additionally, the screen systems typically cannot be used with some liquid propellants such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) due to material incompatibility between H2O2 and typical screen materials.
Other known systems are antivortex devices positioned in the storage tanks that include vanes extending a distance from a sump of the tank towards the walls of the storage tank. These vanes help bring liquid propellants to the outflow area of the storage tank through capillary action, and may reduce the ingestion of gas bubbles into the engine of the vehicle. However, antivortex devices used in known vapor-ingestion-suppression systems generally are designed for low gravity applications and cannot provide substantial vapor ingestion suppression at the higher gravity conditions typical of launch vehicles, and/or are designed to be used in storage tanks without a recessed multi-outlet sump. Moreover, increased vortex suppression may be needed as a fuel discharge rate from the storage tanks increases resulting from the storage tanks incorporating an increasing number of fuel outlets.